I read a few years ago when I first got into the hobby. Unfortunately, I dont remember titles or authors.
I asked a similar question in a thread a while back.
I only got a few replies, but here is one:
"The complete ball python by Kevin McCurley, Ball Pythons by Colette Sutherland ( a complete guide to Python regius)." courtesy of our friend Albert Clark.
I've heard great things about Kevin McCurley's book (he's an innovative breeder and owns N.E.R.D.). He's a wealth of knowledge.
And huge props to you for reading BOOKS!!! I love books, and seeing them become "obsolete" is a sad side effect of technology. I don't mind doing research on the world wide interweb, but I just can't read a "book" on a kindle or anything. I just find it impossible to get lost in a story that way. Plus I like the smell of a book, and turning pages. In a world of over-stimulation, it would be nice to see people just drift away into a book for a while...